East Carolina player hurt in bizarre collision with ref: ‘Can’t say I’ve seen that before’

Injuries are a part of football. But injuries involving a player colliding with an official? Not so much.

East Carolina safety David Coleman Jr. was injured in between plays during the Pirates‘ game against Temple on Saturday, Oct. 31, after an official slipped and collided with him. The official was running up field before he fell into the leg of Coleman Jr.

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The first-year defensive back was unable to put weight on his leg after the collusion, with coaches helping carry him to the sideline. He was then taken to the hospital, per the ESPN broadcast.

A referee just broke one of our players legs. You can’t make this up pic.twitter.com/QnqK3e3uEV

— No Quarter ECU (@ECU_NoQuarter) October 31, 2026

It’s an unfortunate situation for those sides as the collusion was a complete accident by the official. Coleman Jr. entered the game with only three appearances this season and six total tackles.

The play expectedly garnered quite the array of reactions on social media.

"Can’t say I’ve seen that one before," one user posted on X.

"This is the most ridiculous video I’ve ever seen," another account wrote on the platform.

Coleman Jr. was a three-star prospect in the 2026 class, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings. The Kingsland, Georgia, native was the No. 1266-ranked player nationally and No. 116 safety.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: East Carolina player hurt in bizarre collision with ref: ‘Can’t say I’ve seen that before’

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.